• by Britton Taylor , June 3, 2011

Media Category: Media Innovation

Agency: Wieden+Kennedy

Client: Procter & Gamble's Old Spice

Campaign Title: "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like Responds to the Internet"  

Marketing Challenge: "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" debuted online shortly before the 2010 Super Bowl and quickly became a phenomenon.

Originally created to spark a conversation between men and women about Old Spice body wash, the campaign helped to revive this once "aging" brand and created a whole new generation of fans.

Creative Solution and Media Solution:

On the heels of this success, we challenged ourselves to leverage "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" to engage with these fans in a more intimate dialogue. As a result, we created the "Response" campaign -- 186 personalized YouTube videos to Old Spice fans who commented on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Digg, 4chan and more.

During a span of two-and-a-half days, armed with his inimitable charm and charisma, the Old Spice man offered his thoughts on underwater vocations, presidential speechwriting and communication with wild animals. "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" even tendered a marriage proposal (which was later accepted).

Results: This "real-time" effort, which was produced on a very tight budget, became an instant hit and would go on to become one of the fastest-growing and most popular interactive campaigns in history.

• On Day 1, the campaign received 5.9 million YouTube views

• On Day 2, Old Spice had 8 out of the top 11 most popular videos on the Web (source: Visible Measures)

• By Day 3, the campaign eclipsed 20 million YouTube views

• And one week post-launch, the work had been seen more than 40 million times

Moreover, the "Response" effort drove massive amounts of participation and growth of the brand's fan base. In just one month...

• Twitter followers increased 2,700%

• Facebook fan interactions went up 800%

• Facebook fans increased 60% (from 500,000 to 800,000)

• Oldspice.com traffic increased 300%

• YouTube subscribers for the brand more than doubled, increasing from 65,000 to 150,000

• Old Spice also became the #1 All-Time Most Viewed and #2 Most Subscribed Branded Channel on YouTube -- not too shabby for a brand in a supposedly low-involvement category

Finally, this interactive effort helped to drive the business. While sales of Old Spice body wash were already on the rise, the "Response" campaign served as the exclamation point for the campaign. According to Nielsen, by the end of July 2010, unit sales of Old Spice body wash had more than doubled from the previous year with an increase of 125% -- an all-time high for the brand.

All winners will be presented June 7 during the 2011 EFFIE Awards gala in New York.